Bonum Certa Men Certa

Links 9/9/2010: PlayStation 3 Shuts Again





GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux



Free Software/Open Source



  • Airbus Joins Open Source Think Tank Paris
    Olliance Group and DLA Piper are proud to announce that Airbus, a European consortium producing the Airbus family of passenger aircraft will present a business case with the support of the Eclipse Foundation at the Think Tank Sept 28 & 29. Among the topics to be addressed are; long-term community support models, shared innovation between industry, vendors and the community, and open source in supply chain management. With more than five years of strategic use of open source, Airbus will present sophisticated questions for the Think Tank audience to deliberate.


  • Events

    • A Tentative Schedule For XDS 2010
      For those interested in the X Developers' Summit (XDS) that is taking place next week at a tobacco factory in France, a tentative schedule has now been published by Matthieu Herrb for the 50 or so people that will be participating in the summit.




  • Oracle



  • CMS

    • Drupal featured on TV quiz
      According to Jo Wouters, Drupal was just featured on "De Canvascrack", a quiz on Belgian television. I know it is a quiz, but I don't think Drupal has ever been featured on television in such a mainstream way. Cool!




  • FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC



  • Government

    • UK.gov finally pulls plug on National Programme for IT
      The ailing National Programme for IT has been cancelled, although most of its multi-billion pound spending will go ahead.

      A statement from the Department of Health said a shift to more local procurement would work better, "whilst continuing with national applications already procured".


    • Barroso’s State of the Union
      The Europe Union institutions copy more elements from the United States than I believe suit the dignity of the European Union. Even the “e pluribus unum“, you may also find that on the US seal, though the current US motto is “In God we trust”, ironically the EU started a competition to come up with a translation of the Latin phrase in its 27 member languages, and even reverse-translated it to Latin, in an odd fashion “In varietate concordia”.




  • Licensing

    • Linux Foundation Simplifies FOSS License Management
      The Linux Foundation used this year’s LinuxCon in Boston to launch its new Open Compliance Program, aimed at making it easier for companies that are new to using Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) to ensure that their products comply with open source licensing.






Leftovers

  • Ikea to sell second-hand furniture online


  • Science

    • Mars organics get new lease on life
      Martian soil could contain the building blocks of carbon-based life after all, a new study suggests, despite the negative results of an analysis performed by the Viking missions 34 years ago.

      When the Viking landers touched down on Mars in 1976 and scooped up soil samples, scientists were surprised that the two craft failed to unearth evidence that the Red Planet contained any organic compounds. The apparent lack of organic molecules — a basic requirement for carbon-based organisms — helped to cement the notion of Mars as an entity that would not easily support life.




  • Environment/Energy/Wildlife

    • Climate: New study slashes estimate of icecap loss
      Estimates of the rate of ice loss from Greenland and West Antarctica, one of the most worrying questions in the global warming debate, should be halved, according to Dutch and US scientists.


    • Land of Gas
      At issue now, however, are the steep decline rates observed from shale natural gas wells. Don’t these decline curves imply, axiomatically, that the new miracle of shale natural gas production is doomed?






  • Finance

    • Italian school lunches go organic, low-cost, local
      Rome school district with its 150,000 children, and a cafeteria budget of 140 million euros (or $180.5 million), has already pushed the boundary of healthy food to even greater heights.

      If there is one city that has done the most to shape the Ministry’s guidelines, it is Rome. The city served its first organic menu in late 2007.




  • Censorship/Privacy/Civil Rights

    • Breaking News on EFF Location Privacy Win: Courts May Require Search Warrants for Cell Phone Location Records
      This morning, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia issued its highly anticipated ruling in a hotly contested cell phone location privacy case. EFF filed a friend-of-the-court brief and participated at oral argument in the case, arguing that federal electronic privacy law gives judges the discretion to deny government requests for cell phone location data when the government fails to show probable cause that a crime has been committed.


    • Online Ads, Privacy Remain in FTC Crosshairs
      A senior official at the Federal Trade Commission hinted on Wednesday that the agency is planning to prod online advertisers and Web companies to adopt new education tools and data-collection restrictions in an effort to protect consumer privacy.

      "Right now the consumers really don't understand what's going on. So I think that is the real issue that needs to be addressed," Loretta Garrison, a senior attorney at the FTC, said here at the O'Reilly Media Gov 2.0 Summit. "We think they sort of know they're being tracked, but they don't really understand the wealth of information that's being collected and the many different parties that are involved and the various ways in which [information] is being used."




  • Intellectual Monopolies



    • Copyrights

      • Film industry hires cyber hitmen to take down internet pirates
        The film industry is using pirate tactics to beat the pirates – by employing “cyber hitmen” to launch attacks that take out websites hosting illegal movies.


      • How an Anti-Piracy Firm Became Banned In Its Own Country
        A notorious Switzerland-based anti-piracy tracking company has to stop harvesting the IP addresses of citizens using P2P networks. The Swiss High Court ruled that IP addresses constitute personal information and when Logistep collected them without the owner’s knowledge, that amounted to a breach of privacy laws. From its eDonkey Razorback beginnings, via France through to yesterday’s conclusion, here is the full story.










Clip of the Day



The First Official Interactive Unboxing Of The Nokia N8 -- Call Quality



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Credit: TinyOgg

Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM's Kyndryl in Trouble: Mass Layoffs, Payroll Problems, Buybacks (in Company Whose Debt is Almost Twice Its Total Value), and Soon $9 Per Share (Down Over 80%)
Kyndryl is done. Stick a fork in it.
ICYMI: GNU/Linux Did Not Start in Finland
If we're honest/true to ourselves, we need to recognise history for what it is, not what some corporations (like GAFAM) want it to be
Codecs and Software Patents - Part VII - Entering Phase II, the Battle Against Companies That Normalise Taxed (by Patents on Mathematics) Codecs
In the next few part we'll deal with the impact on Free software, including the GNU Project
 
For Effective 'Finlandisation' (Not Digital Sovereignty) to Be Replaced by Autonomy Finland Needs to Think Like GNU (Software Freedom), Not Linux (Openwashing Source, Plus LLM Slop and Killswitches)
What is 'Finlandisation'?
Links 15/05/2026: UK antitrust regulator is officially investigating Microsoft Office, Anthropic’s Fraudulent Lies About Mythoslop Don't Withstand Scrutiny
Links for the day
IBM is Googlebombing the Media With Fake Numbers to Promote Fake Technology
a classic example of why much of today's media cannot be trusted (anymore)
Up to 10,000 Microsoft Layoffs in a Couple of Months
Many ways to skin a cat
Truth Hurts. People Hurt by Truth Aren't Entitled to Compensation.
Family members aren't exempt
SLAPP Censorship - Part 77 Out of 200: They Never Knew How to Handle Women (Except to Attack Them)
The case against us was really quite simple
Update on Sirius Open Source in 2026 (When Your Former Employer Commits Crimes and Nobody is Held Accountable)
I did not envision myself spending several years (even 4 years after leaving that company) challenging the system for tolerating and even covering up corruption
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XXIII - Cocaine Use at the EPO's Top-Level Management "Adds Up" and Worsens Things "Over Time"
"cocaine use knocks the IQ down permanently a tiny bit with each use. Over time that adds up."
Gemini Links 15/05/2026: Slop Fatigue and Banning LLM Use
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, May 14, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, May 14, 2026
Links 14/05/2026: Health Science, Cheeto Meets Pooh, and Facebook Staff Loathing the CEO
Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/05/2026: Early Morning Practice and Number to Roman Numeral Converter
Links for the day
FSF Advertises the Father of Software Freedom Giving a Talk in Germany (a Digital Sovereignty Interest Hub, Sponsor of Free Software)
Free Software vs malware and the need for reverse engineering
Cybershow (UK) Shaping Up to be a Neat and Very Large Gemini Capsule
If only more platforms did the same, plenty of energy would be spared, "old" machines would be totally suitable (even with 20 tabs open), as we'd focus on substance, not bells and whistles
SLAPP Censorship - Part 76 Out of 200: The Problem With the United Kingdom Allowing Americans to File Lawsuits by Proxy (Relayed by "Hired Guns")
Solicitors in UK warned not to act as ‘hired guns’ to silence critics of super-rich
When Microsoft's LinkedIn Goes Offline All Your Fake Friends/Connections and Manufactured 'Status' Will be Gone
Many people quit social control media because they recognise it for what it truly is
Major Setback for IBM in the Courtroom, the Demolition of IBM is Proving Costly
Kyndryl is a sign of how IBM ("mother ship") is run and where IBM is heading
Links 14/05/2026: Willful Ignorance and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/05/2026: Rewatching V for Vendetta, JPEG XL, and Platform Migrations
Links for the day
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XXII - What the Science Says About Cocaine in the Workplace (EPO President, Mr. Campinos, Please Take Note)
What the science says
European Patent Office (EPO) President, Mr. Campinos, Ignoring Its Staff While Protecting His Friends
the President is covering up cocaine use while ignoring his own workers
Slop Cannot Replace Everybody (the Story of Perl and Universities)
Quantity where abundance exists is without merit; quality is what people opt for as they have limited time and patience
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, May 13, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Links 13/05/2026: Sudan War Enters Fourth Year and Strait of Hormuz Leaves Safe Passage a Gamble
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/05/2026: Useless Protests and Foofaraw on Geminispace
Links for the day
Mainstream Media: Microsoft Says No Layoffs. Microsoft: OK, There Are Layoffs.
Where is Waggener Edstrom/Frank Shaw now?
IBM's Kyndryl Down Almost 20% in 5 Days, IBM Down 35% in About 6 Months, Further 'Staff Reductions' at Red Hat (Problems Paying Salaries!)
Will this year's festivities be Krishna's last?
More Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Only Weeks After the "Buyout" Nonsense (Glorified Severance to Highest-Paid American Staff)
Next up it is LinkedIn
IBM is in a Freefall, When Will IBM's CEO Fall on His Sword?
Since he controls the Board, is anyone in a position to fire him?
At GitLab, "AI" is "All India"
It says "as much as 30%," but they also hire and it's clear what demography is targeted
Verified Accounts of Microsoft Offering 'Retirement' (Layoffs) to People in Their 40s, Over Two Decades Earlier Than Retirement Age
It's not even about performance, it's about age (or "cost" as well as location; they cheapen the labour)
Links 13/05/2026: Slop Turns Into 2008-Style Subprime Bubble, Mass Layoffs at Starbucks
Links for the day
They Don't Like the Layoffs, So They Are Rebranding Them
Layoffs are layoffs
IBM Downgraded as the Shares Sink to New Lows
The current strategy of IBM is financial engineering, wage reductions, and mass layoffs that the corporate media refuses to even write about
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, May 12, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Gemini Links 13/05/2026: TUIs and Internet Radio
Links for the day
How the European Patent Office Became a Crime and Corruption Hub, One of Europe's Biggest
incomplete outline